search engine optimization

A couple of weeks ago my family and I all received an email from my brother, informing the family that he had decided to start a blog. I was overjoyed to welcome him to the blogosphere and was glad that, as an already talented writer, he decided to try his hand at a new medium.

Then, the other day, I received another email from my brother, this time asking me how exactly to get his blog ‘out there.’ And there you have it, the age-old question (or at least digital age-old question): Now that you’ve decided to write about something, how do you get people to read it?

The following is the email I sent him in reply:

Dear —-,

The bad news: There is no easy, one-step magic trick to getting a blog “out there.” The good news: Your problem is exactly the sort of work that I’m looking for a career in, so I’d be happy to try my hand at helping you out.

Basically, what you’re asking about is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). People make careers out of driving traffic to websites, but alas you are not a multi-million dollar corporation and I am but a mere novice in the ways of SEO. Still, I’ll do my best to give you some quick and easy tips, especially ones that I have followed with my own blog.

Now, keep in mind, my blog is no best-seller. It took me months to get the limited readership that I have. Yes, sad but true, the basic rule of thumb is that increasing traffic will take time– perhaps not months, but time nonetheless.

First off, I hate to admit it to you, but don’t forget that in all actuality, your blog’s premise isn’t unique (Sorry. Harsh. I know.) In fact, you would be hard put to find any topic to write a blog on that would be unique nowadays. It is the content, rather, that sets a blog apart.

So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and I’ll give you some basic SEO techniques:

1) Link your social media: I noticed you have already used Facebook to publicize your blog, now go a step further. I suggest making a unique Twitter account for your blog. You can then feature your tweets right on your website. Also, you’ll be reaching a completely different audience. I also have a Tumblr, which you might want to look into. There are also YouTube accounts, Stumbled Upon, Flickr, Digg, MySpace, even LinkedIn. Whatever your feel will work best for you. And then– connect!

2) Search Phrases: Use unique and specific tags for your posts. When you just label something as ‘video games’ or ‘books,’ imagine the number of search results that show up before your own. Be specific and feel free to be liberal with the amount of tags you have. Also, the words on the site itself all are put into some crazy mathematical equation that determines your sequence in search results. I’ve found that people have been driven to my site even by the words used in images that I post. You can figure these things out by looking at your WordPress stats. So be creative and feel free to be wordy.

3) Keep your content fresh, relevant, and user-friendly: Seems simple enough, true, but just keep it in mind. Make sure that when a person stumbles upon you after searching, they are getting exactly what they are searching for. As far as keeping content fresh– you seem to be doing that well. One thing I will point out is the ‘user-friendly’ aspect. Try not to let your posts get too looooong. While for some blog readers, that’s not a problem, for others is a major deterrent. It’s overwhelming to scroll down the length of a page and see that the post you are (or were) about to read is much lengthier than you had expected. I understand you’re not used to writing for this specific format, but just keep in mind that it is a different format. Just like you wouldn’t write a novel like a lab report, or vice versa, you don’t write a blog post like a novel. I highly suggest looking at one of my posts for further instructions on this front (https://tessarickart.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/10-tips-of-blogging-tip-taking-blogger/).

4) Reciprocate: I know that you said you’ve been scouring the blogosphere and to that I say: carry on. Also, comment back when you do get comments. Visit other blogs and comment. If you see posts that relate back to your own, comment and suggest that they take a look at one of your posts (see my stealthy use of this tactic above).

I hope some of these ideas help. Like I said before, it’s not an overnight process. It takes work and time. Just don’t become discouraged. Stick to it.